Tarvaxx

Seeing TTV's hypothetical system G3 project really makes me want to see the theme come back as a system theme. Then we at the very least know it will be successful and provide the proper world building and story elements that the other story system themes get.

Doesn't seem like a random Toa to me. Looks an awful lot like Nidhiki, just (re-?)Toa-ified.

The books have done a lot of world building. Have you read RoSS?

I put the Skull Spiders with LoSS, and the Shadow Traps with Umarak. Each have their own shelf dedicated to them.

Yeah, I want to see an absolutely new Toa team.

I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if BIONICLE ended again either. We can't really expect it to continue forever. Though I'm not sure how you can say that G2 is less popular because it's a reboot. The only indication of that I've seen is some bellyaching by older fans who don't seem to understand that they liked G1 better because they were kids back then. Bfa, I think you're wrong when you say that because I don't like it that it's a plain and uninteresting story, and expensive theme. Kids in this generation may not like bionicle for a lot of reasons. It's good but there is too much room for improvement. I personally think the story is plenty interesting enough...

That's because kids don't have their own credit cards, and it takes a lot of nagging to get your parents to finally break and get you that bonkle fix online. We're adults, so we don't have to deal with that, but we're not the target audience and only make up a fraction of the sales needed to support the theme in any decent way. The less kids that come across bonkles in store, the less exposure bonkle has to mainstream consumers, which means that there would be an imminent collapse in potential for the theme. A theme that doesn't have potential becomes a liability, which means it becomes terminal.

Interesting review, and it differs a bit from the opinion I see often posted in the BIONICLE community. Lava Beast is currently liked most for his wonderful color scheme, interesting and distinct silhouette, and his overall imposing physique. Truthfully, your "just meh" criticism is more deserving of Quake Beast, compared to this quite arguably great set.

Any updates on the interview that BZPower went to Billund for? It's been eerily quiet, with no information about it at all.

How can you mark Umarak off for having "no weapons". Claws are literally weapons. They're designed to tear through flesh. Just because he doesn't have a sword or staff, doesn't mean he can't attack or fight, and I hate beasts and monsters that have weapons. IFB was a key offender.

It's pretty sad that I'm just obsessively sitting here, all day, impatiently waiting for even the slightest bit of new information because it's been a while. The dry period is strong for BIONICLE fans.

The only way this isn't true is if EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE is misinterpreting information, and as we keep getting the same general details again and again and again, that's seeming less likely.

I'm just going to copy paste my thoughts from another forum: Alrighty. At this point in time, BIONICLE's future isn't looking too hot in my opinion. More and more users across all BIONICLE fan sites are coming back with the "only major retailers in some places will continue selling BIONICLE, in most places you'll have to buy them online" shtick. Not only this, but I've seen multiple reports of it ending in 2016 for a while now this past month, and after today's information received by a fan that was told about the themes end at the closing of this year by a LEGO sales representative... I can't keep myself in denial that the theme is doing well. Think what you want, but all of this is just piling up in such a cohesive manner that it's hard to think that the stores BIONICLE is selling well in are making the impact positive fans claim they are. The bulk of information just seems too large to write off as store workers/representatives misinterpreting what the higher ups have told them. If you can stay positive about BIONICLE's future, then you're certainly more resilient than me. I mean, Star Wars becoming the new face for constraction, Google trends results being absolutely horrible compared to even HF, the sheer amount of fans coming back with grim information, BIONICLE no longer receiving written story material beyond what has already been written by Windham... I'm afraid to say that it just doesn't look good. I'm not trying to fear monger or stir people up, but I also just can't keep from seeing a common theme in all of this. If it were just one or two employees/sales representatives saying this, I'd pay no attention to it, but when you have a large influx of people coming back with the same news, especially from a LEGO sales representative? There's a connection. You can stay in disbelief all you want, but that doesn't change that all of this adds up. If I were all of you, I'd at least emotionally prepare for BIONICLE's (perhaps premature) end. If it doesn't happen? Great! You can feel a relief you've never felt before. If it does? At least it won't hit as hard.

I really don't think a "basic design" is a con. The real question that should be asked is what did they set out to do? Well, they set out to make a Stormtrooper using CCBS parts. Did they accomplish that? They did indeed. It doesn't matter how "basic" it is, it does it's job, and does it about as good as could be done at its price range. The rest of the review was fine, but that's my constructive criticism on the matter. Complexity does not a good action figure make. It should only be as complex as needed to convey the overall look and aesthetic of what it's trying to emulate. Being complex for complexity's sake often ends up in a mess.

Reminds me of the Avohkii and Kraahkan promotional posters

I'd like to let everyone know that the sets WERE up for purchase before the time you reported on the sets being up. A lot of people on the message boards were scrambling to buy the sets, but after an hour or so the sets were all sold out. Umarak was the first one, to my disappointment. BIONICLE fans are jerks. I wanted Umarak more than all of you. XD A picture of moamaharimatoro's purchase: https://board.ttvpodcast.com/uploads/db5640/original/3X/3/e/3e1ac90528f835dbf7519053efbf8729e6e1ddc6.png

Will JTO develop into a full length series in the future?

Fair enough. I was just curious on how plausible it really is that BIONICLE might be doing bad since Aanchir, Lyichir and others tend to know their stuff pretty darn well. It does seem plausible that the employee could have made things up, but at the same time this was a LEGO store and I don't think an employee would call a line a terminal theme if they want to sell sets.

What forum are we talking about, exactly? Remember, the days of BZP forbidding the mentioning of other sites are over. So long as the site/page/topic in question doesn't blatantly disregard BZP's rules, you could even link it so we could evaluate the claim for ourselves. It was on TTV, and the user is lambda_cla3391, who frequents both TTV and Eurobricks from time to time. http://board.ttvpodcast.com/t/bionicle-2016-discussion-topic/15529/18896 (Yeah, the scrolling system is weird, trust me)

Pretty darn credible. He's not the type to play pranks or stir up drama, and what he says matches up with a lot of what I've been seeing around me. Most stores that normally stock the new BIONICLE sets don't have them in this year. I've only seen them sprout up in the big major cities around me and even then it's sometimes a gamble.

So, I was browsing a different BIONICLE forum and a user on that site had talked to a LEGO employee, and apparently we might be in a bit of trouble. Here's the basics of what he said: "So today I completed my collection of the winter 2016 wave by frantically finding the last Onua in a Toysrus near me. When I was looking for Onua in a lego store, I was told that Bionicle is a 'terminal theme', and that the line is not selling as well as Lego had hoped it would. I don't know whether that is valid, but this was coming from a LEGO employee. I don't know whether the summer sets this year might be the last ones released ever, but considering that many stores are not selling the winter wave altogether might perhaps suggest that Bionicle is indeed being discontinued again and earlier than expected to add." I know that there are quite a few people on here that know LEGO and its business practices fairly well, so I'm interested to know what you guys think of this.

Wait, are you saying that the Golden Mask of Skull Spiders ISN'T canon? Because I don't believe we've ever seen anything to imply that. Just because it never became a plot point in the story itself doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The Kanohi Vahi was first available in sets in 2001, yet never became a plot point until mid-2003. If you were claiming it wasn't canon near the beginning of 2002, you'd be in for a rude awakening. Not to mention the huge number of combi models and contest winners in G1 that were considered canon despite never actually appearing in any story media... All of the media we've gotten points to the mask not being canon, instead it implies that he can control the Skull Spiders telepathically. I guess it can go either way, really.

- Those "ridges" are crystals. - Crystals seem to be a source of raw elemental material. - The Toa also have new crystal armor parts. - I think you're going a bit too deep into this. - The creatures and the Fusion Masks might come together as one, but I don't think that it means they were originally part of a single mask, because we learn on the BIONICLE website that the creatures are elemental beings that came into existence when Okoto was created, at the beginning of the G2 universe's creation. - It has been hinted that Umarak needs the Mask of Control in order to force the creatures to unite with him, although I have no idea if that's canon or just marketing fluff.

I think that LEGO saw that BIONICLE's story was... just degrading truthfully, combined with sets starting to sell less and less (part of me suspects the Inika build, truthfully, because of how samey it was and just because the sets weren't appealing as much as they could at the time). In the end, they put it on hiatus, and created Hero Factory, a theme that lasted five years and gave BIONICLE... a clean slate when it returned.

"Millennia ago, when the Elemental Creatures came into being, the shadows gave birth to a terrible fiend whose sole purpose was to hunt the Creatures, to trap and bind them in darkness and drain them of power. He is known among the Protectors as Umarak, which in their tongue means ‘Shadow Hunter’. They fear him greatly and pray that the Toa will be strong enough to confront him. Should the Hunter ever track down the Elemental Creatures, Okoto’s very foundation will be threatened with destruction." 1. I love the focus on making this world full of wonder and fantasy. I love that so much 2. Umarak, is now my favorite villain. Seriously, he like, manifested from shadow as if it were a living thinking entity. 3. The stakes are high now.